The Brief Bros.

54. A conversation with George Tannenbaum and a surprise announcement!

Be sure to listen to our entire episode with George Tannenbaum, copywriter, strategic thinker, owner of GeorgeCo. LLC, a Delaware company. He gave us a scoop! Today at the age of…whatever…George is in a place he never expected, but by his own admission, he never would leave. George joins Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach in an in-depth conversation about advertising, writing, thinking and, yes, the creative brief. You don’t want to miss George at his best.

53. A conversation with Richard L. Gant, CEO and Chief Experiential Officer, RL Gant Group

Educator, entrepreneur, agency owner, Richard L. Gant, CEO and Chief Experiential Officer of RL Gant Group, joins us today on The Brief Bros. Richard contributed valuable insights to Howard’s book “How To Write A Single-Minded Proposition.” He shares his thoughts on the proposition and the challenges of writing great briefs. Don’t miss this fascinating and inspiring conversation with one of New Your University’s popular educators. Join Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach every Wednesday for new episodes of The Brief Bros.

52. A conversation with Cameron Day.

Cameron Day, son of the late Guy Day, of Chiat\Day acclaim, joins us today on The Brief Bros. He is the author of a fascinating and resonating guidebook for young creatives who aspire to a career in Adland. It’s called Chew With Your Mind Open: The Advertising Survival Guide. Cameron’s book is a must-read for newbies and veterans alike. It’s filled with advice, anecdotes and laugh-out-loud lessons from a man who has been in both the trenches and the boardrooms. Cameron joins Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach to talk about the industry, creative briefs, getting a start in advertising and more.

51. A conversation with Luke Sullivan.

The author of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This: The Classic Guide To Creating Great Advertising is now in its 6th edition. Its author, Luke Sullivan, joins Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach to talk about the industry, creative briefs, getting a start in advertising and more.

50. A conversation with London ad legend Dave Dye.

Joining us from London, advertising legend and all-around sage and gentleman, Dave Dye shares his wisdom and experience on advertising, brands, the frustrations of the business, creative briefs, and more. Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach kick off Year Two of The Brief Bros.

49. How to avoid the 11th hour veto of a creative brief.

Anyone in the advertising business knows about this inevitable situation: Your brief has been handed off to your creative partner, and then the key stakeholder on the client side finds a reason to object to the brief. The project comes to a standstill. The brief must be reviewed or re-written. How do you avoid this dreaded moment? Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach offer valuable tips on what brief writers can do to prevent the 11th hour creative brief veto. Creative Review: New print from Milk Bone.

48. When to use humor when writing a creative brief.

Humor is a time-tested technique in advertising. But when do you use it in a creative brief? Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach share examples of humor in great briefs and talk about why it works and when it’s relevant. Creative Review: A look at the four-minute short by Chevrolet for its holiday message.

47. New Year’s Creative Brief Resolutions.

Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach share a few resolutions to help creative brief writers improve their skills in 2022. Shout-outs to our friends Paul Feldwick and Matt Davies and Pieter-Paul von Weiler. Creative Review: Henry and I return to the Heinz OOH work we presented two weeks ago from Rethink Canada with results from our very unscientific research. Happy New Year! See you in 2022!

46. Back to creative brief basics.

Inspired by our fellow creative brief aficionado Faris Yacob, Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach discuss two brief basics: designing the creative brief, and when it might make sense to ignore the brief template. Creative Review: We get nostalgic a couple days before Christmas and discuss two classic holiday spots by John Lewis, the venerable British retailer. The first is from 2011 and the second is from 2014.

45. Questions about the single-minded proposition.

A Brief Bros. fan and student at London’s School of Communication Arts, Terry Eeles, sent us four challenging questions about the single-minded proposition. Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach plunged in where angels fear to tread. Creative Review: New OOH for a major brand. But we’re keeping the brand hidden because we want you to answer a question: Did you figure out the brand by looking at the creative? The brand thinks you’ll figure it out. Henry agrees. I disagree. Agency: Rethink Canada.

44. Special guest Marc Lewis, dean of the School of Communication Arts London.

Marc Lewis is a teaching dynamo: passionate, experienced, committed. He leads an impressive staff of industry teachers in the most awarded and saluted school for advertising creatives on the planet. Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach welcome Marc to The Brief Bros. We talk advertising, creative, single-minded proposition, selling, the Industry. It's a lively conversation.

43. What’s the first question on your creative brief?

This week's episode of the Brief Bros. returns to basics: What does your creative brief ask first? Why is this first question so important? Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach offer their ideas and rationale. Creative review: New TV spot from Fisher Price toys by Weiden + Kennedy.

42. Special guest Bob Hoffman, the Ad Contrarian, talks about briefs and advertising.

He tells it like it is and pulls no punches. Bob Hoffman, the Ad Contrarian blogger, former agency CEO, author of five books on advertising and a regular essayist on LinkedIn, joins Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach on The Brief Bros. to share his laser-sharp thinking about "The Three-Word Brief" and other hot-button advertising issues. Check out his latest book, Advertising for Skeptics. Highly recommended!

41. The Better Briefs Project with Matt Davies and Pieter-Paul von Weiler.

Approximately US$80 billion in marketing spend is wasted each year due to poor briefs. That's one-third of the marketing spend in the US. The BetterBriefs Project surveyed marketers and creative agencies in the US, UK, and Australia and uncovered frightening gaps between what marketers think about their briefs to agencies, and what agencies think about those briefs. Henry Gomez and Howard Ibach talk to Matt and Pieter-Paul about their findings, why this news is important and what can be done to improve briefs. Download the free report.